Friday, 30 October 2015

Thursday, 29 October 2015

I decided to look at John Galliano's seasonal collections in relation to the collections of buildings within the city. Each collection of buildings having a trend/style of their own. This research will also help with giving each building its shape and design.

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

With this influence map I was looking at various ideas, such as, the magnitude of different collections for each season. This then moved on to looking at catwalks and cul de sacs, long roads ( Like catwalks) with a dead end. I also took a quick look at artificial trees as plastic leaves are something John Galliano has used recently within his Spring/Summer 2015 collection.

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Jean Cocteau's, fantastical 1946 tale 'La Belle et La Bete', the story that inspired Walt Disney's 1991 smash hit 'Beauty and the Beast', is an outstanding showcase of movie magic that captivates audiences with its imaginative story. A story that seems to have an underlining tone of sexual allure and adds within it the taboo regime of beastiality.

Fig.2. Film Still

'Consider the extraordinary shot where Belle waits at the dining table in the castle for the beasts first entrance. He appears Behind her and approaches silently. She senses his presence, and begins to react in a way that some viewers have described as fright, although it is clearly orgasmic. Before she has even seen him, she is aroused to her very depths, and a few seconds later, as she tells him she cannot marry--a Beast!--she toys with a knife that is more than a knife' (Ebert, 1999)

This scene is packed with sexual connotations, the way in which the beast is very calm, yet provocative to the viewer. The Beast is entranced by Belle, after being hidden away within his castle, a luxurious prison that holds him, he cannot contain himself around her.

Although the beast comes across aesthetically as this towering, hairy brute, his kindness and good heart shines through, pleading to Belle that what she wants she can have. This is where the female role seems to change slightly, instead of being a hostage or the dominated character, Belle takes the reins. A dominatrix, she calls the shots with the Beast, he worships the female figure, the beauty that is before him.

Fig.3. Film Still

'There is an obvious undercurrent of eroticism here, too. This is acknowledged finally when Beauty (Josette Day) tells the Beast (Jean Marais) "I like being afraid... with you." As played by Marais, the Beast comes across as a dapper, renaissance version of a werewolf in a Universal horror film. One moment, he'll be on his haunches drinking water from Beauty''s hands, but the next he'll be growling out some surprising chivalrous dialogue.' (Macnab, 2014)

His primal instincts are shown within scenes in which he drinks from Belle's hands, she treats him like her pet, but only when he allows it. His broad shoulders portray him as a large menacing character, but his feline-esque characteristics say otherwise. The story is very back and forth with the characters, to begin with the Beast is a mysterious, foreboding figure and Belle the timid, beautiful woman, but, as the story progresses they weave in and out of these roles and change the way in which we see them.

The entirety of the story is surrounded by a luxurious set. A set that is encrusted with diamonds and lavish fabrics that are draped upon the characters, all playing a part within this wonderful tale.

'The Beast's ornate, decaying castle- ringed with throws and filled with grasping hands- is a place of terror, wonder and mourning, the perfect reflection of its tragic, noble occupant.' (Huddlestone, 2013)

This sense of mourning and tragedy that is reflected within the Beast's castle seems to act like a metaphor to the way in which the beast feels about himself. He sees himself only as this aesthetically un-pleasing and horrifying creature. He cannot see beneath his rough exterior, that is until Belle enters his life. She brings out the best in him.

Friday, 16 October 2015

I feel that this show will have a lot more depth and atmosphere within the FINAL painting due to the amount of texture I plan on adding, but the misty look and silhouetted buildings is something I really like about this. I also plan to add more signs and plant life to this.

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

For this quick study I wanted to see how light could work within the world. The reason I wanted to try this was because I have recently come up with the idea of having the underbelly of the city quite dark due to the buildings that are upon it. I felt as if the colours that I used within this were very saturated and didn't give the shot much life. For my final 3 paintings I plan to add a lot of texture to the world.
I didn't add many trees or any symbolism that connects the city to the earth. This was just a test of both colour and light.

Stanley Kubricks, 1968 sci-fi movie, '2001: A Space Odyssey'. A visionary piece of film that depicts a storytelling of mankind's evolution and the development of new technology.

Throughout the entirety of the picture, Kubrick paces out his shots, developing a sense of tension and magnitude.

Fig.2. Film Still

'Now consider Kubrick's famous use of Richard Strauss' "Thus Spake Zarathustra". Inspired by the words of Nietzzche, its five bold opening notes embody the ascension of man into spheres reserved for the gods. It is cold, frightening, magnificent.' (Ebert, 1997)

Magnificent is exactly what this is. The grand scale of what the audience is shown before them is overwhelming, with the use of Richard Strauss' music, the viewer is swarmed with tension and a widescreen look at space, the setting for this deliberately dreamy story.

The past, present and future are all shown throughout this film. From the famous throwing of the bone scene all the way up to the psychedelic trip that we are taken on within the climax of the film. An ending that will have you contemplating what you have just seen. A surreal trip, reflecting the era, the 1960's, specifically 1967, the summer of love. A summer that showed thousands upon thousands of hippies culture americans converge within San Fransisco. The use of drugs was during this time seemed to have translated into Kurbrick's work. 'In particular, the "stargate sequence" was required viewing for viewers under the influence of LSD, due to its abstract depiction of a type of "cosmic consciousness". In fact because the film was about space, cosmic issues, and travelling beyond known perceptual realms, it was no surprise that it was appropriated as a head film. While Kubrick has downplayed the drug connection it nevertheless fed into its marketing campaign, with one poster proclaiming it "the ultimate trip".' (Mathijs and Sexton, 2011) A strong use of vibrant colours speeding past the camera, showing a new world to the stories character, a new world that is changed through a jump cut of an eye blinking, blinking into new worlds, a quick glimpse into the real reasons as to why this character is in the position they are in within this part of their story.

Fig.3. 'Stargate Sequence' film still

'If we conquer both time and space, then what? The final sequence of 2001 is speculation through imagination, posting a new xanadu, a world of wonders where time and space no longer exist, just as the rest of the film speculated on carious levels, exploring the new vistas opened up by the encroaching space era' (Milne, 2010)

A world of wonders, the anxieties of the future, something that can be seen time and time again within the sci-fi genre. For example, Fritz Lang's 1927 dystopian, 'Metropolis'. looming sets and a manic story topped off with an underlining anxiety of technology. Self efficient and intelligent. Just like Lang's female lead, Maria, portrayed as artificially intelligence, Kubrick himself adds this within his film. Hal-9000, a presence that is felt within the story of the film, although Hal-9000 is only seen as a control panel or simply a red light, this red light has a menacing presence from start to finish.

My plan was to have a mountain range within the background of my exterior establishing shot. My initial sketches were aimed at typical triangular looking mountains, then I came across plateau Mountains. They are massive angular structures with flat tops. I felt this fit the Aesthetic within the rest of the world/city I was creating.